1) Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to a monofilament interlaced loop surfaced and thin-profile fastener strip base material that is fabricated into a unitary structural entity by a knitting machine, the innovative features of which includes the interlacing of the upper and lower section wraps of the woof elements to form a bottom weave with a woof-oriented nylon monofilament, the overlaps of which continuously bind a pair of adjacent wraps and thereafter skips the next pair of adjacent wraps in an alternating pattern; the vertical linear interlinking of the overlaps by the said continuous binding then becomes the warf element of the bottom weave; the sections of monofilament that are not utilized for binding densely distributed along the bottom weave surface become arch-shaped freestanding loops that are flat and narrow and have an optimal degree of fastening strength and, furthermore, minimal lean propensity; as such, after the bottom weave undergoes bonding and shaping processes, the monofilament fastening surface formed by the said arch-shaped freestanding loops provides for the engagement of the hook ends along the bottom side of a male fastener strip to the bottom weave on the thin-profile base material to thereby achieve conjoinment.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Hook and loop fastener strips were invented decades ago and are in widespread usage; since such fastener strips can be attached and conjoined in virtually any arrangement, they typically have fabric bottom layers that are mounted by sewing or adhesion, the closure of the two-sided fastening components providing convenience and other advantages that have enabled them to replace conventional fasteners, zippers, buttons, and so on.
A survey of such products available on the market reveals various patents for improved structure fastener strips or case continuations thereof, the majority of which include a male fastener strip 1 having hook ends 21 distributed along the bottom portion (for the description below, refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 1-A, and FIG. 1-B); the base material 1 (i.e., the female fastener strip) that provides for the engagement of the hook ends 21 is a textured material of distributed multifilar construction that is woven onto the top surface of the base material 1 to thereby produce a very soft, thick nap fastening surface 11.
Since the end portions of the nap fastening surface 11 are essentially raw fibers not secured by knitting or weaving, after the hook ends 21 of the male fastener strip 2 are disengaged, the tearing force of the hook ends 21 readily loosens and pulls out the fibers; in addition to detracting from appearance, the extraction of fibers gradually lessens the degree of fastening strength between the male fastener strip 2 and the base material 1.
Furthermore, the piled sponge-like characteristics of the nap fastening surface 11 causes the thickness of the said base material to reach approximately 2.5 mm (as indicated by the measurement 2R in FIG. 1-A); if the approximately 2.0 mm thickness (as indicated by the measurement 1R in FIG. 1-A) of a conventional male fastener strip 2 is added, the total thickness following closure is approximately 3.5 mm (as indicated by the measurement TR1 in FIG. 1-B, wherein the hook end 21 portions penetrating into and engaging the nap fastening surface 11 results in a slight reduction in the actual combined thickness of the two). As such, in general applications of such conventional fastener strips on apparel and other articles requiring fasteners, the serious shortcomings include the unavoidable forming of a discontinuity (of approximately 3.5 mm) along the area of closure that ruins appearance; moreover, the relatively lengthy hook ends 21 penetrating into and engaging the disarrayed fibers of the nap fastening surface 11 are such that when the male fastener strip 2 and the base material 1 are pulled apart during the unfastening operation, an ear shattering tearing sound is generated and, furthermore, the larger the square area of the fastening surface, the greater the audible intensity of the tearing, with excessive length also contributing to the discomfort of the user. These are the drawbacks of a fastener strip base material 1 utilizing a multifilar-construction nap fastening surface 11 and it is believed that they are among the main reasons why discontinuing the use of convenient fastener strips on some high-end apparel and products requiring fasteners has been considered.
Moreover, commercially available fastener strip base materials at present are confined to a specialized narrow range of textile structures, with the width of the base material products limiting them to belt-like and strip-like arrangements, which once again further restricts utility and applications.
The primary objective of the invention herein consists of interlacing the upper and lower section wraps of the woof elements to form a bottom weave with a woof-oriented nylon monofilament, the overlaps of which continuously bind a pair of adjacent wraps and thereafter skips the next pair of adjacent wraps in an alternating pattern; the vertical linear interlinking of the overlaps by the said continuous binding then becomes the warf element of the bottom weave; the sections of monofilament that are not utilized for binding densely distributed along the bottom weave surface become arch-shaped freestanding loops that are flat and narrow and have an optimal degree of fastening strength and, furthermore, minimal lean propensity; as such, after the bottom weave undergoes bonding and shaping processes, the monofilament fastening surface formed by the said arch-shaped freestanding loops provides for the engagement of the hook ends along the bottom side of a male fastener strip, with the thickness of the ultra-thin base material of the present invention reduced to approximately two-thirds that of a conventional base material, thereby decreasing the combined thickness and space occupancy of the base material and the male plastic fastener strip when conjoined during usage as well as lessening the discontinuity left between the two fastening components to a bare minimum, thereby effectively broadening the practical range of fastener strip applications, which is among the innovative features of the present invention.
Another objective of the invention herein consists of the arch-shaped freestanding loops that are flat and narrow and, furthermore, have minimal lean propensity, which by means of continuous overlaps and binding are tightly and securely interlinked to the bottom weave warf element; therefore, this provides the necessary degree of fastening strength when a male fastener strip is conjoined and, furthermore, optimal durability because separating the male fastener strip does not result in filar displacement.
Yet another objective of the invention herein consists of the arch-shaped freestanding loops that are flat and narrow and, furthermore, have minimal lean propensity, which when conjoined to the male fastener strip allows the hook ends along the bottom side to become engaged in a shallow arrangement without affecting the degree of fastening strength, thereby providing excellent practicality by facilitating separation from the base material of the present invention and reducing the noise of the unfastening operation.
Still another objective of the invention herein consists of the said flat and narrow arch-shaped freestanding loops, which provide for usage with short hook ends of the male fastener strip to further reduce the combined thickness and space occupancy of the base material and the male fastener strip when conjoined during usage and thereby further encouraging virtually unlimited fastener strip applications.
A further objective of the invention herein consists of the said flat and narrow arch-shaped freestanding loops, wherein the overlaps of the woof-oriented nylon monofilament continuously bind a pair of adjacent wraps and thereafter skips the next pair of adjacent wraps in an alternating pattern provide for the variable control of freestanding loop length and thereby effectively allows convenient control over the degree of fastening strength (the greater the freestanding loop length, the higher the degree of strength; the shorter the freestanding loop length, the lower the degree of strength), thereby enabling convenient and rapid fabrication that meets the specific requirement of fastener strips based on the intended applications.
Another objective of the invention herein is the selective determination of the arch-shaped freestanding loop length during the fabrication process that allows control over the degree of fastening strength without requiring different types of male fastener strips and hook ends, thereby facilitating practical and economical production.
Yet another objective of the invention herein consists of allowing the base material to be constructed at extreme widths to accommodate general fabric surfaces and, as such, utilization is not limited to design by trimming and thereby widens the scope of fastener strip application, which is among the innovative features of the invention herein.
The structural features, operation, and other particulars of the invention here are fisher elaborated in the brief description of the drawings below and followed by the detailed description of the invention